Wurz said the fire was first detected in small bales stacked at the east end of the 8,400-square-foot, steel structure. Colony members at first tried to put out the flames out themselves using the colony's three water tender vehicles. But according to Wurz, the fire spread too quickly for the equipment and resources available to the men at Big Stone Colony.

"By the time they got back it had already spread the whole length of the building," Wurz said. "It's going to be a total loss."

Hot, red flames burst out from behind large square bales, each weighing in excess of 1,500 pounds. Thick white smoke billowed into an already hazy sky, while nearly the entire 140-person membership of Big Stone Colony stood watching the blaze consume a significant portion of the colony's 2013 hay harvest.

Wurz said the the total loss including the hay storage barn will exceed $200,000, but colony members were counting their blessings that no one was injured in the fire, and that the flames didn't spread to nearby corrals containing livestock.

"We were able to get in and save a front-end loader," he said. "After that there wasn't much more we could do."

Wurz said the colony will be forced to buy additional hay to replace the tonnage that has been lost.

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According to Chief Larry Butler of the Sand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department, the barn's immense fuel load, access to the flames, and difficulty in obtaining enough water were all impediments to fighting the fire.

"It's the fuel load in there and getting access to it," Butler said. "Our problem is, we need a large volume of water because we've got two deck guns running. We're tripping the volunteer water tenders back and forth to Tracy, and that's a long turn around."

After more than an hour and a half of fighting the fire, intense flames could still be seen at the back of the building. Colony members began using front-end loaders to tear apart the partially burnt bales, then drag then apart into the open to lessen the fuel load and improve access to the back of the building.

"We've just got to hope a storm front doesn't come through and throw some embers out into one of the fields or something," Black Eagle Fire Chief, Tom Martin said.

As the firefighting efforts continued, crew chiefs expressed concern that the southeast section of the building might collapse. Shortly after 7:30 p.m. observers and equipment were instructed to pull back from the immediate area to avoid any injuries or additional property damage.